There are presently known numerous types of anti-skid traction devices but none have the particular claimed advantages of the present invention. Present day tire attaching traction devices consist of either steel studs applied directly to the tires or chains manually wrapped around the tires of the vehicle. The former must be installed one at a time by means of special machines and, once applied, are usually left in place for the entire life of the tire. Furthermore, they cannot be applied to tires which do not have the required tread depth, thus limiting further their utilization. The latter, while removable at one's desire, necessitate strenuous manual work and skill in their application to the tires. Furthermore, the chain links are quite susceptible of breakage with resultant damage to the fenders and underbody of the vehicle.
A search of the state of the art of the tire attaching traction device industry uncovered the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 5,1115,851 to Chiavatti in in 1992 entitled TIRE TRACTION DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,885 to Chang in 1992 entitled CABLE CHAIN FOR AUTOMOBILE TIRE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,182 to Proulx in 1990 entitled MOTOR VEHICLE EMERGENCY TIRE TRACTION IMPROVEMENT DEVICE etc.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,251 to Ziccardi in 1987 entitled TRACTION DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILE WHEELS; U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,100 to Parker in 1989 entitled TRACTION DEVICE etc.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,923 to Blankenship in 1989 entitled TRACTION CABLE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,280 to Lew in 1981 entitled EASY TO INSTALL CONTINUOUS SNOW CHAIN; U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,939 to Motosko in 1980 entitled TRACTION DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,391 to Dieck entitled TIRE TRACTION DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,161 to Quintana in 1978 entitled TRACTION DEVICE FOR TIRES; U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,336 to Beskall In 1978 entitled TRACTION DEVICE FOR POWER DRIVEN VEHICLES; U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,216 to Santivale in 1974 entitled TIRE ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTION ON ICE OR SNOW; U.S. Pat. No. 3,756,613 to Rutley in 1973 entitled TRACTION APPARATUS FOR VEHICLE TIRES; U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,422 to Greipel in in 1972 entitled VEHICLE TRACTION DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 3,630,440 to Sams in 1971 1991 entitled EXACTO-O-LIFTER.
Whatever their claimed advantages, none of these prior patents discloses a tire attaching traction device which is easy to apply, and can be mass-produced at low cost from used tires. Since the invention herein is made of rubber itself it is does not damage the road while it functions to give its user better traction on ice, snow, mud, or sand. When compared to the presently known traction devices, this inventive device is less costly and less complicated to use while providing the safety sought In adverse road weather conditions. Another important advantage in the present Invention is that the tire traction device disclosed herein utilizes recycled material, particularly tires which are a considerable problem for landfills. Therefore, the present invention is environmentally friendly. This is a very big concern in the world today due to the decreasing landfill space, and the increasing pressure of local municipalities to re-cycle more material each year. The present invention, when mass produced, will require large quantities of used tires, thus removing them from landfill space, and from illegal dumping grounds. Prior known traction devices are neither road nor environmentally friendly. These and other disadvantages experienced with the prior art devices, have thus been obviated by the improved tire traction device now disclosed.
In sum, although useful for their own purposes and in their own times, no known prior art discloses a useful, effective, road friendly tire traction device which is road safe and environmentally protective at the same time.